Intrigue Chocolate - 60% Bolivia Dark Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 26, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Intrigue Chocolate
60% Bolivia Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $6.00 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: Intrigue Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Bolivia Theme Week.

Today's 60% Bolivia Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Intrigue Chocolate Co. (Seattle, WA).

Cacao source: 2021 wild harvest HCP Heirloom cacao--from tall trees* in a forest canopy setting--used to make this chocolate were from Tranquilidad Natural Forest Estate in Bolivia.

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate, sweet green (plant stalks, hay, tree syrup, slightly floral honey).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate, sweet green (hay, tree syrup) and slightly floral honeycomb.

I really enjoyed the gentle complexity and natural sweetness (even the higher sugar level than yesterday's 78% version of this chocolate). 

The sealed, smaller, tasting bar size, package helped preserve the heirloom flavors. (If I have leftover chocolate, I share with others; but if that opened bar can't be sealed up quickly, the aroma and flavor profile may be less "fresh" or more subdued. The tasting experience may be different.

Makers tasting notes: "Expect full-bodied chocolatiness with notes of molasses and aged balsamic."

Ingredients: "Roasted cacao nibs, raw cane sugar, cocoa butter."

Allergen-related information: "Vegan, no dairy, no soy, no gluten."

*Cultivated cacao trees are often shorter (for easier harvesting) and grown in denser rows (to increase yields). More delicate heirloom varieties left to grow wild often yield more nuanced, complex and flavorful cacao. 

Intrigue Chocolate - 78% Bolivia dark chocolate (bar) - Oct. 25, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Intrigue Chocolate
78% Bolivia Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $6.00 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: Intrigue Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Bolivia Theme Week.

Today's 78% Bolivia Dark Chocolate (bar) was made and distributed Intrigue Chocolate Co. (Seattle, WA).

The 2021 (wild) harvest certified HCP heirloom cacao used to make this chocolate was from Tranquilidad Natural Forest Estate in the Bolivian Amazon basin. The maker describes these cacao trees as quite "tall and spindly, nestled among the forest giants..." with smaller cacao pods and brands that are nonetheless "packed with flavor."

Aroma notes for this bar included: dark chocolate (dark ganache, torte), and very faint green floral and light paraffin/beeswax notes. 

Texture: Smooth with a very faint, fleeting astringency in the finish.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (dark ganache, torte), subtle sweet green, floral honey, and barely detectable wood, nut (coconut, blanched peanut) and cookie. (Note: there were no coconut or peanut ingredients.)

I appreciated the slightly floral notes and the inherent sweetness of the wild Bolivia cacao used to make this bar. The maker's choice of 78% cacao--a slightly higher cacao percentage (and slightly lower percentage of sugar) also made it easier to detect the subtle, attractive aroma and flavor notes that are more likely to be present with heirloom cacao(s).

Makers notes: "...aromas of chocolate sheet cake, clover hay bales, and aged firewood."

Ingredients: Roasted cacao nibs, raw cane sugar, cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: "Vegan, no dairy, no soy, no gluten."